The trial of Bobby Thompson, shown in a court appearance last year, starts today in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, more than a year after he was arrested and charged with running a national veterans charity scam that collected $100 million in donations nationwide. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Selection of the people who will determine the fate of Bobby Thompson, accused of running a national veterans charity scam, is scheduled to start today in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Authorities say that Thompson is a stolen identity used by John Cody, a fugitive from IRS fraud charges, when he was head of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA) and swindled more than $100 million from donors nationwide from 2002-2010.

Thompson disappeared in 2010 after investigations revealed that the charity was largely a collection of hired telemarketers, bank accounts and rented mailboxes. He was tracked to Portland, Ore., where he was arrested in 2012, and has been jailed since then in Cuyahoga County.

Thompson faces charges including identity fraud, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and money laundering.

The trial is expected to last several weeks and has drawn national media attention.

Last week several prominent Ohio Republicans, including U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, who had received political donations from Thompson in the past, were subpoenaed to testify in the trial.

Also subpoenaed was Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, whose office is prosecuting Thompson. Additionally, two of DeWine's predecessors, Jim Petro and Betty Montgomery, were subpoenaed by the defense.

A motion by DeWine to quash the subpoenas was approved last Friday by Judge Steven Gall.

Joseph Patituce, Thompson's attorney, said that he was upset by the decision because there wasn't a hearing on that motion.

"I'm very disappointed that I didn't get a chance to respond," said Patituce, who planned to file a motion with the court, asking to have that decision reconsidered.

Patituce said the purpose of calling these witnesses was to show that Thompson made legal political donations from charity contributions, contrary to the "Attorney General's theory that he just pocketed the money and ran.

"Some people might think that he (Thompson) might be quirky or a little crazy, but I think that's a long way from criminality," Papituce added.

In the motion he provided to ask that the court reconsider quashing the subpoenas, Patituce provided a glimpse of his legal defense.

He wrote that despite government assertions that Thompson stole millions of dollars, the defense will prove that the charity received "only 10 to 15 percent of each dollar raised by professional fundraisers and received by USNVA. The money was, in fact, used for legitimate, lawful purposes that donors were made aware of."

Other Republicans who received donations from Thompson include former President George W. Bush and presidential contenders Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

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